The Road of Fear and Redemption

"That very day, the first day of the week,
two of Jesus’ disciples were going
to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus,
and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred.
And it happened that while they were conversing and debating,
Jesus himself drew near and walked with them,
but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.
He asked them,
“What are you discussing as you walk along?”
They stopped, looking downcast.
One of them, named Cleopas, said to him in reply,
“Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem
who does not know of the things
that have taken place there in these days?”
And he replied to them, “What sort of things?”
They said to him,
“The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene,
who was a prophet mighty in deed and word
before God and all the people,
how our chief priests and rulers both handed him over
to a sentence of death and crucified him.
But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel;
and besides all this,
it is now the third day since this took place.
Some women from our group, however, have astounded us:
they were at the tomb early in the morning
and did not find his body;
they came back and reported
that they had indeed seen a vision of angels
who announced that he was alive.
Then some of those with us went to the tomb
and found things just as the women had described,
but him they did not see.”
And he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are!
How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke!
Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things
and enter into his glory?”
Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets,
he interpreted to them what referred to him
in all the Scriptures.
As they approached the village to which they were going,
he gave the impression that he was going on farther.
But they urged him, “Stay with us,
for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.”
So he went in to stay with them.
And it happened that, while he was with them at table,
he took bread, said the blessing,
broke it, and gave it to them.
With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him,
but he vanished from their sight.
Then they said to each other,
“Were not our hearts burning within us
while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?”
So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem
where they found gathered together
the eleven and those with them who were saying,
“The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!”
Then the two recounted
what had taken place on the way
and how he was made known to them in the breaking of bread."

 

Let’s recap really quickly. The reading starts out, “Now that very day two of them were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus.” This was the morning of the resurrection and the two travelers were two of Jesus’ followers, two of His disciples, but not of the eleven that Jesus was closest to. Only one of them is named- Cleopas- and some believe that Cleopas’s wife was the other traveler. A few days before, as the city was packed with travelers for the Passover celebration, they watched as He was brutally put to death. Cleopas’s wife, Mary, had kneeled at the foot of the cross and now, even after three days, people were still talking about it. The disciples had scattered but now the eleven, Jesus’ apostles, were in hiding. Jesus had been many places and healed uncountable numbers of people. It says in John that if someone was to write the detailed account of all the things Jesus did, the whole world could not contain them. He was a busy man who touched many people’s hearts. And now, because of His death, He was talked about even more.

That morning, as soon as the Sabbath ended, the travelers' friend Mary Magdalene had gone to bring spices to the tomb of Jesus. The eleven closest disciples of Jesus and others were gathered, hiding in a room. Cleopas and Mary were with them. Some were sleeping, others sat, shocked from the terrible crucifixion and loss of their beloved friend. A few hours later, Mary Magdalene barged into the house and ran to Peter, speaking fast and excitedly. She was crying and laughing and she couldn’t contain her excitement. She told them that Jesus was alive. Peter and John got up instantly and ran, coming back a while later to say that her story was indeed true. Perhaps Cleopas and Mary felt that they were done, that they could not believe these rumors, these falsehoods. Hadn’t they seen the nails go in His hands and feet? Were they not there when Jesus’s side was pierced?  Sometimes we become too familiar with these stories and forget that crucifixion was the death penalty. It was dishonorable, it was embarrassing, it was barbaric and cruel.  And they were witnesses of Jesus being subjected to it.

Whatever the reason, these two disciples began to travel to Emmaus. And as you know, as they walked and were talking and debating, Jesus began to walk alongside them and question them. They are shocked that this stranger does not know what has happened. How could He have not heard the yells of the angry mob, the wailing that seemed to come from every corner of the city? Jesus was a dearly loved celebrity and this stranger had not heard of what happened to Him? Cleopas gives the man a summary of what has happened, including the hope that many had shared. “We were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel,” he says. The stranger then begins to interpret the scriptures for them, explaining Moses and all the prophecies that pointed to the Messiah. Walking moderately for seven miles takes a little bit over two hours, but with the traffic of people leaving after Passover, it may have taken even longer. So they arrived in Emmaus and they urged him to stay with them since it was nearing evening and getting dark. Jesus then broke bread and they realized that it was Him! Jesus then does this vanishing act and, even though it’s dark and dangerous, they go back to Jerusalem and tell the others.

 I really want us to focus on a few sections of this story and apply it to our own lives. Think about a time you have been down, miserable, depressed, sad, lonely, doubtful, angry, or grieving. Oftentimes, it is in these moments that we turn away from God. For Cleopas and the other disciple, they were leaving Jerusalem, the city of the cross. They were trying leave all that had happened behind, including Jesus. When we have hard times, it can be easy to walk away. And if Jesus wasn’t who He was, we would still be walking. Cleopas would have stayed in Emmaus.

But Jesus didn’t just let them go. He didn’t give up on them just because they gave up on Him. He doesn’t leave us because we leave Him. Just like in this story, Jesus comes and walks right along with us, He makes things clear for us, He doesn’t mind walking on the dusty path with us, and He isn’t offended when we don’t recognize Him right away. He counsels us and isn’t afraid to tell us that we are being foolish. But He never leaves us on our own. He strides with us and offers us the truth.

A pinnacle moment in this story is when they get to Emmaus. They could have let this stranger keep going and the story would have been over. But they persisted. As it says in the story, “they felt their hearts burning within them as He spoke” and they chose to listen to it and invite Him to stay with them. Then Jesus revealed Himself to them in the breaking of the bread, the Eucharist.

I was really convicted by this part of the story. I had to ask myself today, “When Jesus speaks to me, and I feel in my heart what is right, do I listen? Do I invite Him in? Because if I don’t, I could miss out on incredible things! When we experience the Eucharist, we are drawn back into the story of the Road to Emmaus. We can bring to the altar all of our grief, all of our sadness, every dark part of us, and Jesus will reveal himself to us in new AND familiar ways.